by Natalia Dantas – On 13 December 2024, Ponchielli's opera will be on stage at the Teatro Massimo Bellini, Fabrizio Maria Carminati on the podium, Anna Pirozzi protagonist.
The audience at the premieres of the Massimo "Bellini" theater in Catania has always been a particular audience: expert, severe, selected and always few in number, they decreed with moderate applause or some dissent, murmured under their lips, the success or failure of a show; and there were no saints who changed their minds about it even in subsequent turns: his diktat was law. Today, a few small survivors of that generation find themselves immersed in an atmosphere of a social evening rather than a theater premiere, among people of all kinds and types, cultures and backgrounds, ages and habits and therefore also unpredictable in their reactions to the unfolding of the show. An audience that comes to the theater for the most diverse reasons, which is not always made up of experts and is generally prey to easy enthusiasm.
It is therefore not written anywhere that today the premiere of a great work must everywhere necessarily be defined as a "triumph", an excessive term, later amplified by social media with attributes such as "sumptuous" or "unforgettable". Just call it a "success", hopefully. And this result is almost always due to the ability to offer the overall show to today's audience with the ability to make the most of the "material", usually varied in terms of value and possibilities, available, starting with the orchestra and from the voices: the secret lies in mixing everything together properly.
On 13 December 2024, on stage at the Bellini "La Gioconda" by Amilcare Ponchielli, thanks above all to the prudence of the concertation and orchestral direction of Maestro Fabrizio Maria Carminati, every possible false step was avoided, in favor of "success", with all due respect to the entire premiere audience. The Maestro, in fact, at the helm of the excellent permanent orchestra of the Etna Theatre, opted for careful direction, without excesses, with support for the performers and maintaining a moderate orchestral volume, which was never an obstacle to the singing.
In this way, an illustrious debutante, not so much in the role of the protagonist, but on the Etna stage, the soprano Anna Pirozzi, was able to express her particular conception of the character of Gioconda. Pirozzi's interpretation, in fact, leaned more towards the human side of generosity of the Venetian singer than towards the aggressiveness of her possessive jealousy and modeled a character who was sweeter than predatory, more religious than passionate. A reading that was expressed in a soft song, well modulated and equipped with every requirement for the optimal performance of the title role.
From the perfidious Barnaba, however, the good Franco Vassallo, seen and reviewed a few weeks ago in the concert for the thirtieth anniversary of his career, also at the Bellini, one would have expected a more convinced Luciferian malice, as well as a more incisive projection.
The much disputed Enzo Grimaldo by Ivan Momirov would have benefited from greater support, in favor of roundness of voice; Anastasia Boldyreva proved to be a merely attractive Laura Adorno; greater authority, both vocal and scenic, would have been needed for George Andguladze's Alvise Badoero and more vocal clarity for "the blind woman", Agostina Smimmero; the other supporting actors are brought into line with the whole.
The Choir, directed by Luigi Petrozziello, made many, many sounds, even poorly controlled ones, in contrast with the orchestral calmness; graceful, but still to be refined, the children's choir InCanto directed by Alessandra Lussi.
The famous "Dance of the Hours" had the performers of the AltraDanza dance troupe, with the choreography, more of arms than legs, by Domenico Iannone.
To return to the experienced spectator present in the room, moved by having recognized in Francesco Esposito's scenes the scenographic structure of Roberto Laganà for Bellini, 2006, he moderately appreciated the traditional direction of Esposito himself (with costumes by Giovanna Adelaide Giorgianni and the lights by Antonio Alario), who gave particular prominence to the mass scenes; in the meantime, however, he was annoyed to hear the lady next door fluting to her husband, at the beginning: “But I don't know the story!” and then did not bat an eyelid at the couple's premature defection at the first interval.
At the end, solid applause from every type of audience for the prima donna Pirozzi, appreciation for the show as a whole.
Natalia Dantas
Photo of James Orlando
